Editing Tracheal intubation (section)

===Stylets===
[[File:Tracheal tube stylet.JPG|thumb|alt=An endotracheal tube stylet|An endotracheal tube stylet, useful in facilitating orotracheal intubation]]

An intubating stylet is a malleable metal wire designed to be inserted into the endotracheal tube to make the tube conform better to the upper airway anatomy of the specific individual. This aid is commonly used with a difficult laryngoscopy. Just as with laryngoscope blades, there are also several types of available stylets,<ref name=Hung2007/> such as the Verathon Stylet, which is specifically designed to follow the 60° blade angle of the GlideScope video laryngoscope.<ref name=Agro2003/>

The Eschmann tracheal tube introducer (also referred to as a "gum elastic bougie") is specialized type of stylet used to facilitate difficult intubation.<ref name=Elorbany2004-1/> This flexible device is {{convert|60|cm|0|abbr=on}} in length, 15 [[French catheter scale|French]] (5&nbsp;mm diameter) with a small "hockey-stick" angle at the far end. Unlike a traditional intubating stylet, the Eschmann tracheal tube introducer is typically inserted directly into the trachea and then used as a guide over which the endotracheal tube can be passed (in a manner analogous to the [[Seldinger technique]]). As the Eschmann tracheal tube introducer is considerably less rigid than a conventional stylet, this technique is considered to be a relatively atraumatic means of tracheal intubation.<ref name=Armstrong2004/><ref name=Hodzovic2004-evaluation/>

The tracheal tube exchanger is a hollow [[catheter]], {{convert|56|to|81|cm|in|1|abbr=on}} in length, that can be used for removal and replacement of tracheal tubes without the need for laryngoscopy.<ref name=Hudson2002/> The Cook Airway Exchange Catheter (CAEC) is another example of this type of catheter; this device has a central [[Lumen (anatomy)|lumen]] (hollow channel) through which [[Insufflation (medicine)|oxygen can be administered]].<ref name=Loudermilk1997/> Airway exchange catheters are long hollow catheters which often have connectors for jet ventilation, manual ventilation, or oxygen insufflation.&nbsp;It is also possible to connect the catheter to a capnograph to perform respiratory monitoring.

The lighted stylet is a device that employs the principle of [[transillumination]] to facilitate blind orotracheal intubation (an intubation technique in which the laryngoscopist does not view the glottis).<ref name=Davis2000/>